Imports of Nickel Scrap by the U.S Surged 59% During Jan-Apr '18

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The U.S reported significant jump in imports of nickel waste and scrap during the initial four-month period of the current year. This is in accordance with the latest statistics released by the U.S. Census Bureau. The exports too recorded notable jump in volume during Jan-Apr ‘18, when compared with the corresponding for-month period in 2017.

The U.S. imports of Nickel Waste and Scrap totaled $101.93 million during first four months of 2018. The imports rose sharply by nearly 59% when compared with those during the corresponding four-month period last year. The U.S. had imported $64.16 million of nickel scrap during January to April in 2017. The imports for the whole year 2018 are projected at around $306 million, significantly higher over the previous year. It must be noted that the U.S. imports of nickel waste and scrap had totaled only $214.25 million during the full year 2017.

The top source of import through April 2018 was the U.K. The imports from the U.K totaled $26.95 million, accounting for 26.44% of the total U.S. imports. Russia supplied $13.26 million worth of nickel waste and scrap. The supplies from Canada totaled $10.54 million. The other major exporters were Germany ($9.51million) and Mexico ($7.83 million). The above five countries accounted for nearly 67% of total U.S nickel waste imports. The combined exports from the above top five markets totaled $68.09 million.

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According to Census Bureau data, the monthly nickel scrap imports totaled $31.45 million in April 2018.

Meantime, exports of nickel waste and scrap by the country totaled $49.83 million through April this year, higher by 29% year-on-year. The exports had totaled only $38.62 million during Jan-Apr ’17. Nearly 82% of all exports from the U.S. were to Canada. The shipments to Canada totaled $40.88 million. The other key export destinations were Japan ($3.13 million), the U.K. ($2.19 million) and Sweden ($1.02 million).